Prosperity Connection recently joined a long list of esteemed cohorts as a winner of the Achievement in Financial Services at the St. LouisRegional Chamber’s 5th Annual Arcus Awards for our groundbreaking solution to predatory lending, RedDough Money Center.

The Arcus Award for Achievement in Financial Services honors a company, organization or institution for creating an innovative product or service; achieving revenue or employment growth; raising investment capital; designing or constructing a significant building or infrastructure project; and/or providing other leadership to champion the bi-state St. Louis region’s world-class excellence in financial services. For this award, the definition of financial services includes companies, organizations or institutions that develop or sell products or services in diverse niches such as banking, payment systems, securities, insurance and financial products, data processing, data hosting, software development, and related services and disciplines.

RedDough features accessible, safe and affordable financial products and services. The facility offers low-cost check cashing services, short-term loans, bill-pay, money orders, re-loadable debit cards, money transfers and more to those individuals who either cannot qualify for a bank account or, for personal reasons, have decided to stay out of the mainstream.

The RedDough Money Center provides people with a wide variety of options to pay less for banking services and have access to financial coaching and development services through the neighboring Excel Center® so that they may continue to work toward attaining long-term financial goals.

Last year, we were recognized in the Demonstrating Innovative Solutions category of FOCUS ST. LOUIS’s What’s Right With The Region 2017 Awards.

Every person’s financial journey is different. St. Louis Community Credit Union (SLCCU) and its affiliated nonprofit, Prosperity Connection®, joined forces to launch a multi-use facility, known as the Wealth Accumulation Center (WAC), to provide a new way for consumers of every economic background to access affordable financial services and increase their financial knowledge. The WAC houses a small full-service SLCCU branch, a RedDough Money Center® for affordable payday loans and alternative financial services, and an Excel Center® for free financial coaching and classes. Together, these three elements create a pathway to financial stability by offering both the knowledge and tools necessary to build individual financial confidence and capability.